X Marks the Spots
by HAFanForever
Summary: When the Powerpuff Girls catch chicken pox, they must simultaneously take time to get well and keep Townsville from falling victim to its many villains. Cover image is from the book "Where Is Chicken Pox?"


**The city of Townsville,** **a hot spot for crime and villainy, but also for our heroines, the Powerpuff Girls, to spot those villains and put them in a cool spot in jail! And speaking of spots, the girls are in a real spot of bother today.**

One evening at their home, the Powerpuff Girls were sitting in front of the television watching their favorite show, _TV Puppet Pals_. Although the show often made all three of them, including Buttercup, laugh so much, right now, the girls were barely paying attention to the TV screen. They were all feeling very hot and sweaty, even though it wasn't hot outside or inside their house.

Professor Utonium stepped into the room. "Okay, girls. It's time for…" He was quickly caught off guard by the sight before him, which was of the girls looking very glum as they sat together on the floor.

The Professor's concern quickly rose. "Girls, what's wrong?" he asked, kneeling down next to them.

"I feel yucky," Bubbles answered.

"Me too," Blossom said.

"And me," Buttercup put in.

"Hmmm," the Professor said, thinking. "Let me check your foreheads." He placed his hand on Bubbles' head, then did the same to her sisters. "Oh, dear! All three of you feel very hot," he said once he was finished. "I'm going to take your temperatures." He then picked up the girls and gently held them in his arms as he carried them to their room.

"You girls get changed into your nightgowns while I get the thermometers," the Professor said to them before he headed to the bathroom. When he came back, the girls were changed into their nightclothes and still looked very miserable, even while they had the thermometers put into their mouths. The Professor frowned sadly, since he was feeling very sorry for the girls.

"Keep the thermometers in your mouths and under your tongues for a couple of minutes, girls," he told them. "I'll be back shortly." He left the room and went downstairs.

The Professor came back almost as quickly as he left, carrying some washcloths, a pitcher of water, and a large bowl of ice with him. After he set the items down, he removed the thermometers from the girls' mouths. Upon checking all three of them, the Professor frowned. "Yep. You girls definitely have a fever of 101 degrees. Well, this ice water should help cool you down a little."

The Professor then proceeded to pour the water into the ice bowl. Then he took each washcloth, dipped them into the bowl, and gently patted them on the girls' faces. Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles all moaned sickly as the Professor did his work.

"Can you put the washcloths on our backs and tummies, Professor?" Bubbles asked.

"Yeah, we feel really hot there, too," Blossom said.

"Of course I can, girls," the Professor replied.

When the Professor started to treat Blossom's back, Bubbles lifted up her nightgown, wanting to be ready for when it was her turn. Buttercup saw something on Bubbles' stomach that got her immediate attention. "Uh, Bubbles? Aren't you a little young to be getting pimples?"

"What do you mean?" Bubbles asked, confused. She looked down at her stomach and shrieked upon seeing a few dots there. "What are these dots?!"

The Professor turned his attention to Bubbles. "Uh oh," he said. "Buttercup, Bubbles, those aren't pimples. Those look like chicken pox."

"Chicken pox?!" Blossom exclaimed.

"You mean I caught something from a chicken?!" Bubbles shouted.

"Does it mean you turn into a chicken?!" Buttercup cried.

The Professor laughed. "No, girls, chicken pox is just a common illness in children. You probably caught this from someone at school."

"Do we have it, too, Professor?" Blossom asked.

"Yeah, cause me and Blossom don't have any spots," Buttercup put in.

"Well, since you all are sick, yes, I bet you do. Fever is almost always the first symptom children develop when they catch chicken pox. And chicken pox is very contagious, so since Bubbles has it now, you two are going to end up getting spots sooner or later."

All three girls groaned and moaned in an ill manner again, so the Professor reapplied the wet washcloths to their bodies. When he was done, he said, "Well, with you three in this state, you should definitely go to sleep."

While the girls climbed into their spots in the bed, the Professor asked them, "Do you girls want something to drink before you go to bed? When you're sick, it's always important to stay hydrated, so drinking enough fluids is something you should do."

"I'll have some orange juice," Buttercup said.

"Yeah, me, too," Blossom spoke up.

"And me, Professor," Bubbles added.

The Professor exited the room and headed downstairs. A few minutes later, he returned carrying a tray with three glasses of orange juice. "Here you are, girls," he said, then handed a glass to each girl.

As soon as they were given their glasses, Bubbles, Buttercup, and Blossom immediately gulped down their juice. In mere seconds, they were finished and gave the glasses back to the Professor. He placed them on the tray, then set the tray down on the floor before he turned his attention back to the girls. He pulled their blanket over them and tenderly stroked their faces.

"Just try to get some sleep, girls. Rest is the best thing you need when you're ill," the Professor told them. Then he kissed the tops of the girls' heads. Even though they felt sick, a kiss from the Professor was enough to make them all smile.

"Aren't you going to catch our chicken pox if you hang around us, Professor?" Bubbles asked.

The Professor smiled. "No, Bubbles. I've had chicken pox before, and it's an illness you only get once. So I have no need to worry about catching anything from you and your sisters." He walked over to the door. "Good night, girls," he said softly.

"Good night, Professor," the girls all said together.

The Professor walked over to the light and turned it off before he shut the door behind him.

* * *

The Powerpuff Girls slept all the way through the night. Even by the time they woke up in the morning, they were still feeling tired and weak. The Professor had checked on them a couple of times during the night. The girls slept all the way through the morning and were finally awake when it was almost noon. The Professor came in at this time, hoping they would be awake at last.

The first thing that Professor had noticed on his last visit to the room was that all three of the girls had chicken pox spots covering their faces. The girls noticed this as well, so they looked at themselves and found spots on their stomachs, chests, arms, legs, and backs. This definitely meant that the girls would be unable to go to school today, and likely for the remainder of the week.

"What?!" Bubbles and Blossom cried upon the Professor telling them that they couldn't attend school.

"All right!" Buttercup cried happily.

"I'm sorry, girls, but if you went to school, you would be spreading your chicken pox to the rest of your classmates," the Professor said. "Besides, you all still feel too sick to go to school, don't you?"

"Yes," Blossom and Bubbles both said reluctantly.

"Well, anyway, I think I have an idea that will help soothe your chicken pox," the Professor said.

"What's that, Professor?" the girls asked.

"Come with me and I'll show you," the Professor replied, gesturing for the girls to follow him. When he walked out of the room, the girls followed him like he wanted.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the girls, including Buttercup, were settled in the bath tub, which not only held water and soapy bubbles, but ground up oatmeal. The Professor had suggested such a bath to reduce the itching that the chicken pox would cause. The girls thought it was an unusual idea at first, but the Professor insisted for them to try it out.

"This feels _sooooo_ good," Bubbles said, feeling a bit more content now, even with her spots.

"Yeah. Who thought oatmeal could be used for this purpose?" Blossom said in agreement.

But in a corner of the tub, further away from Bubbles and Blossom, who were obviously enjoying the bath, Buttercup was sitting with her arms crossed, sulking. This was all just because she was taking a bath, which she despised. She did think that the oatmeal was of help to her chicken pox, but because she was known to hate baths, Buttercup certainly didn't want to admit it, especially to her sisters.

Blossom and Bubbles noticed their sister's pouty look. "Awww, come on, Buttercup!" Blossom said. "Don't you think this kind of bath feels good?"

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't," Buttercup said, still frowning without even looking at Blossom and Bubbles.

The Professor came inside the bathroom to check on the girls. "How are you doing, girls? Does this bath help?"

"Oh, yes, Professor," Blossom answered.

"I think it also adds to the fun of a good bubble bath," Bubbles giggled. She added more soap to the tub to increase the bubble count. This only made her and Blossom giggle and they playfully splashed around. As they had their fun, they turned towards Buttercup, then purposely and mischievously splashed some soapy water at their grumpy sister.

"Hey!" Buttercup cried. She turned towards her sisters and wore a fierce look on her face. "Don't do that again!" Then she scratched her face.

"Oh, lighten up, Buttercup!" Blossom said tartly.

Before he said something to stop their bickering, the Professor noticed Buttercup scratch her face again. "Ah, ah, ah, Buttercup," he said, shaking his finger. "Don't do that."

"Do what, Professor?" Buttercup asked, now scratching her arms.

"Don't scratch your chicken pox," he answered.

"What?! Why not? It itches so much!" Buttercup complained.

"Yeah, Professor," Blossom and Bubbles said together as they started scratching, too.

"I know it's hard, girls. But the most important rule to follow when you have chicken pox is no scratching. If you do it too much, you'll end up getting a bacterial infection and horrible scars on your body."

"What's so bad about getting scars?" Buttercup asked. Blossom, Bubbles, and the Professor just gave her a disapproving look, which Buttercup didn't seem to comprehend. "What? _What?!_ "

Ignoring Buttercup, Bubbles, wanting to focus again on the itchiness of the chicken pox, turned back to the Professor. "So what can we do so we won't be scratching ourselves, Professor?" she asked.

"I have a couple more ideas," the Professor answered. "You girls finish up with your bath and get dressed in your nighties again, then I'll show you."

* * *

A little while later, back in their room and laying in their bed, the Powerpuff Girls were not only changed back into their nightclothes, but they were wearing oven mitts on their hands and calamine lotion had been rubbed on to their bodies.

"Why do we need to wear these stupid oven mitts, Professor?" Buttercup asked, frowning.

"Wearing those will make it harder for you to scratch yourselves, Buttercup," the Professor answered. "So don't tempt yourselves when you feel itchy, girls. Keep them on your hands. All right?"

"Yes, Professor," the three girls said simultaneously.

"The calamine lotion should be able to help some with the itchiness, too. As long as it's applied to your bodies and you take the bath every day, that will help soothe your chicken pox until you girls get better. But at the same time, you also need to rest as much as possible. So I want you three to try and take a nap now. Okay?"

"Okay, Professor," the girls said together.

But fifteen minutes later, no sooner did the girls drift off into sleep when their hotline phone rang. Once they were awake, the girls groaned together as they heard the familiar buzzing.

The Professor walked into the room and decided to answer the phone himself, knowing that the girls likely did not want to get out of their bed. "Hello, Powerpuff Hotline," he answered.

"Professor! I need the Powerpuff Girls right away!" the Mayor cried on the other end of the line.

"Is it an emergency?" the Professor asked. "The girls are actually very sick with the chicken pox, so I don't think they're really up to fighting crime. Can't the police take care of it?"

"I don't think so!" the Mayor shouted in a panicked voice. "Mojo Jojo and many of the other villains of Townsville are causing chaos in the city!"

The Professor sighed exhaustedly. "All right, I'll tell them."

" _Hurry!"_

The Professor hung up the phone and turned to the girls. "Girls, I'm sorry, but Mojo and some of the other villains are wreaking havoc in Townsville, and the Mayor needs you to stop them."

The Powerpuff Girls let out loud moans and groans of annoyance and feeling as ill as they were. "I don't have any energy to fight," Bubbles whined.

"Me neither," Buttercup said.

"Well, the sooner you go stop the villains, the sooner you can come back and get some rest," the Professor said. "So you better hurry."

"Oh, wait!" Bubbles cried, a new thought having just come to her mind. Her sudden outburst immediately got her family's attention, and they gaped at her. "What if more crime and villainy takes place during the whole time we all are sick? Then we'll never get enough rest to get better!"

"Yeah!" Buttercup exclaimed in realization. "I don't want to be fighting crime all the time while I'm sick!"

The Professor sighed. "I don't know, girls. I've had that thought, too, and I really don't know what to tell you. We'll just have to hope not much else goes wrong for the next week."

Hearing Bubbles say her concern got Blossom thinking. Then an idea occurred to her. "Wait, girls!" she exclaimed. "Professor, you said that chicken pox is contagious, which means that it can easily spread from one person to another, right?"

"Um, yes, Blossom," the Professor answered uncertainly.

"Well, I've got an idea." Blossom motioned a huddle to her family. When they all huddled together, Blossom whispered her idea to Buttercup, Bubbles, and the Professor.

"Hmmm, you'll never know until you try it, girls," the Professor stated once they pulled away from their huddle. "But if you want to find out, you better go now."

Even though they still felt sick, the girls quickly changed out of their nightgowns and into their clothes before they finally flew out of the house and took off towards the city of Townsville.

* * *

As they came towards the major part of the city, the first criminal that the girls saw was Mojo Jojo, who was using his Robo Jojo to destroy some of the smaller buildings in the area. He let out an evil cackle as he did his dirty work.

Once he saw the Powerpuff Girls, Mojo immediately turned his attention to them by trying to grab them with his robot's mechanical arms. They easily missed being grabbed and broke through the roof of the robot.

"Get of my way, Powerpuff Girls! I have buildings to destroy and the last thing I need is for you to stop me!" Mojo shouted. Then he noticed that the girls were covered with chicken pox spots. "Ha ha ha!" he laughed. "What has happened to you three? What is causing you to be covered with spots? What sort of misfortune has befallen you this time?"

"We're sick," Bubbles said weakly.

"We have chicken pox, Mojo!" Blossom shouted.

"So we don't have time for your mischief!" Buttercup yelled.

"Oh, then I guess that means I should go easy on you!" Mojo said sarcastically. "Well, that won't happen, and it's unfortunate for you that I also happen to have itching powder with me as a defense. Take this, Powerpuff Girls!"

Mojo pulled out the spray bottle he was hiding in his belt. He took aim, and it immediately hit all three girls. "Ahhh!" they screamed together. Almost immediately, the itching powder took effect, making the girls itchier than before.

"Ha!" Mojo shouted victoriously. "Now that should make your itching even worse!"

"Girls! Don't scratch!" Blossom shouted. "It'll make it worse!"

"But I can't help it!" Buttercup yelled.

"Me either!" Bubbles shrieked.

"This itching powder won't stop us! Get him, girls!" Blossom cried to her sisters.

The girls pulled Mojo out of his robot, then quickly gave him the usual round of being punched and kicked. Mojo groaned in pain at his injuries, but he didn't have time to focus on his pain when he suddenly felt itchy. "Hmmm. Why do I feel so itchy? What is causing this uncomfortable irritation to my skin? What is causing my body the urge to scratch so much?"

Then it suddenly occurred to Mojo. "Oh, no!" he cried in a small voice. Then he let out an angry scream as he began to wildly scratch his body.

"It worked! He caught our chicken pox and now he's feeling all itchy!" Buttercup exclaimed happily.

Moments later, the police arrived and threw Mojo into the back of their truck. "Good job, girls!" Blossom announced. "Now let's finish the job with the other villains!"

With that said, the Powerpuff Girls immediately took off to find the other villains that were causing trouble in Townsville. It didn't take too long for them to find the Gangreen Gang harassing some little kids, Princess robbing a bank, and Fuzzy shooting his shotgun while chasing after some people, who no doubt had trespassed on to his property.

"Okay, let's split up and take on these villains!" Blossom announced to her sisters. "Buttercup, you take the Gangreen Gang. Bubbles, you take care of Fuzzy. I'll deal with Princess."

So the Powerpuff Girls beat up all of the remaining villains like Blossom had instructed. And like Mojo, from making and coming into close, physical contact with the girls, it wasn't too long before the villains ended up like Mojo in getting itchy, which undoubtedly told the girls that they had caught their chicken pox.

This had all been part of Blossom's plan; she had figured that if they sneakily gave the villains their illness, they would all end up getting sick with the chicken pox, too. By doing this, it would give the girls the break they truly needed from fighting crime in their states.

Before too long, the girls had finally stopped all of the villains and Townsville was free from crime…for now. The girls quickly stopped at the Mayor's office to tell him about their illness and how they had tricked the villains into catching it from them.

"Well, then I suggest that you girls go home and get some rest now," the Mayor told the girls. "While you recover, I'll only call you if there are monsters in the city. I'll talk to the police to see if they can take care of the common criminals while you girls get better."

"Thank you, Mayor," Blossom said. "Well, we need to get back home to rest."

"See ya, Mayor," the girls all said together. Then they took off for their house/

* * *

In a matter of seconds, the girls were finally home. They flew through the open front door, where they found the Professor standing there.

"Welcome home, girls," he said. He opened his arms out to them, and the girls floated into his embrace. "Well, did your idea work, Blossom?"

"It sure did, Professor," Blossom answered.

"Now all of the major villains have chicken pox," Bubbles said. "While they take time to recover, we'll be able to, too."

"Although Mojo also sprayed some itching powder on us," Buttercup added.

"Then I suggest you take another bath to clean yourselves up," the Professor said.

Buttercup groaned. "Do we have to, Professor?"

"Don't argue with me, Buttercup," the Professor said in a stern voice. "You have to take another bath if you want to stop the itching." He turned his attention to Blossom and Bubbles as well. "But after you do that, I also think you three should have some food and drinks before you take a nap."

"Yes, Professor," Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles said simultaneously.

 **So once again, the day is saved, thanks to the Powerpox…uh, I mean, the Powerpuff Girls! Hope you feel better soon, girls!**

* * *

 **I have been wanting to write a story where the girls get sick for a long time, and I really wanted to do it about them getting the chicken pox. I know there was a short book called "Where Is Chicken Pox?" in which this happened to the girls, but I wanted to create my own version of it. As for this title, it refers to the phrase, but also to the fact that the girls were partly made of Chemical X, and the "spots" refer to their chicken pox.** ** **I owe a very special thanks to MinervaDeannaBond for coming up with such an awesome title!** This is for you, girlfriend!**

 **Inspiration for this story came from episodes that dealt with chicken pox from _Rugrats_ , _Arthur_ , and _Full House_.**


End file.
